Civic Engagement Assignments and Political Efficacy
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Christopher Hallenbrook, California State University Dominguez Hills; Salvatore Russo, California State University Dominguez Hills
Version: View help for Version V1
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Project Citation:
Hallenbrook, Christopher, and Russo, Salvatore. Civic Engagement Assignments and Political Efficacy. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2024-06-11. https://doi.org/10.3886/E205201V1
Project Description
Summary:
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Survey responses to standard political efficacy battery
We examine how to increase students’ self-reported feelings of political efficacy in Introduction to U.S. Government courses. We test the effectiveness of civic engagement assignments, such as writing a letter to your member of Congress or attending a public meeting, in increasing political efficacy beyond simply taking the course. Conducting pre and post-tests in both classes with (treatment group) and without (control group) the civic engagement assignments allows us to isolate the effect of the assignments. We find significant effects for taking the course in both the treatment and control groups, confirming existing research that taking Introduction to U.S. Government increases students’ political efficacy. We also find treatment effects for multiple elements of the standard political efficacy questionnaire. That our intervention had these affects at a state university that is both a Hispanic Serving Institution and a Minority Serving Institution indicates these types of civic engagement assignments hold significant potential not just for increasing political efficacy among students, but also increasing efficacy among historical marginalized groups who typically participate in politics at lower rates than White Americans.
We examine how to increase students’ self-reported feelings of political efficacy in Introduction to U.S. Government courses. We test the effectiveness of civic engagement assignments, such as writing a letter to your member of Congress or attending a public meeting, in increasing political efficacy beyond simply taking the course. Conducting pre and post-tests in both classes with (treatment group) and without (control group) the civic engagement assignments allows us to isolate the effect of the assignments. We find significant effects for taking the course in both the treatment and control groups, confirming existing research that taking Introduction to U.S. Government increases students’ political efficacy. We also find treatment effects for multiple elements of the standard political efficacy questionnaire. That our intervention had these affects at a state university that is both a Hispanic Serving Institution and a Minority Serving Institution indicates these types of civic engagement assignments hold significant potential not just for increasing political efficacy among students, but also increasing efficacy among historical marginalized groups who typically participate in politics at lower rates than White Americans.
Scope of Project
Subject Terms:
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political efficacy;
civic engagement;
pedagogy
Geographic Coverage:
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California
Time Period(s):
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2022 – 2023
Universe:
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Intro to US Government students at CSUDH
Data Type(s):
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survey data
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